Kaepernick had a 90.7 QB rating and a 16-4 touchdown to interception ratio in his last season with the 49ers

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GREEN BAY, WI – JANUARY 05: Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass in the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers during their NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Lambeau Field on January 5, 2014 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

If NFL defensive players had their way, Colin Kaepernick would still be playing in the league.

Kaepernick, the former 49ers starting quarterback who in 2016 pioneered the kneeling, silent protest before NFL games, has been a free agent since opting out of his contract in early 2017. Unable to arrange so much as a workout with another team, he is pursuing a collusion grievance against the NFL.

According to Bleacher Report, The Athletic surveyed 85 defensive players on 25 teams over the last six weeks of the regular season, asking them: “Should Colin Kaepernick be on an NFL roster?”

Eighty-one (95 percent of respondents) said yes, two said no, and two voted “no comment.”

In his final season with San Francisco, Kaepernick lost 10 of the 11 games he started while compiling a respectable 90.7 quarterback rating built largely on a 16-4 touchdown to interception ratio.

The Athletic didn’t stop at the thumbs up/thumbs down data regarding Kaepernick. lt also asked which quarterbacks should be replaced by Kaepernick. Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles, who compiled a 60.3 QB rating and was benched four games during the second half of the season, received 20 percent of the vote.

Close behind was Nathan Peterman, who was cut by Buffalo in November after throwing 12 interceptions against three touchdowns. He was picked up by the Raiders.

From The Athletic: “One player responded by saying he ‘couldn’t list them all,’ and another voted for ’25 percent of the league.’ Three players specifically noted that if Kaepernick were to be signed to a roster ‘he’d be a backup.’”

In late November, Jason La Canfora of cbssports.com reported that Kaepernick’s grievance against the league would be held in Philadelphia — the city of Brotherly Love. It was believed the hearing would be in early 2019. CBS Sports reported that the process is likely to take two weeks at an “upscale hotel” close to the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where arbitrator Stephen Burbank is a professor.